Automatic air-pressure signal device



Feb. 23,1926.

A. W. PARQUETTE AUTOMATIC AIR PRESSURE SIGNAL DEVICE.

Filed May 9, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 v. D IT N E v N I Feb. 23 1926.

A. W. PARQUETTE AUTOMATIC AIR PRESSURE SIGNAL DEVICE Filed May e, 1925 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 To @ZZ 'autom t m04/ concern:

Patented Feb. 23, 1926.

PATENT OFFICE.

ARCHIBALD W. PARQUETTE, F WATERTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS.

AUTOMATIC AIR-PRESSURE SIGNAL DEVICE.

Application led May 9, 1925. Serial No. 29,232.

- Be it known that l, ARCHIBALD TW. PAP.- enn'r'rr., a citizen of the United. States, residing at lVatertown, county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Automatic Air-Pressure Signal Devices, o't vvhich the following is a specification, reference bei ings.

ing had therein to the accompanying draiv- The invention relates to a new and useful improvement in automatic signal de Vices'for indicating when a predetermined air pressure has been reached during the process of intlating a pneumatic tire or other Vair' inflated article.

. There are various means of testing'the air pressure in a tire andV other air iniated articles to indicate visibly the amount of pressure therein. rThe nusual method heretofore employed in determining Whether the tire has been pumped to the desired pressure is to apply a testing device to the tire from time to time experimentally during the pumping operation and reading the pressure as indicated by the gauge. It it is not yet pumped up to the desired pressure the pumping is continued and the test is repeatedly made until the desired pressure is reached. One

AVobject ot' the present invention is to propressure to which the control is set so that the particular degree of pressure required .to operate the signal may be varied accord ing to Whatever degree ot' pressure it is dcsired to give the article being inflated.

Another object is to provide means for automatically shutting off the'source ot pressure when the pressure reaches a predetermined degree.

Other features of thev .invention will be particularly set forth hereinafter.

The preferred kind of signal is one which .will be audible when actuated and still further the preferred audible signal is a Whistle but the particular kind of signal may be any kind ol an audible signal or it may even he a visible signal, the main ieaturc being that it should Le actuated by the compressed air when the pressure reaches a certain pre-A determined degree.

The invention will be 'ully luiderstood from the following description when taken in connection With the accompanying di W- ings and the novel features ther/eer v. pointed out and clearly deiincd by at the close of this specilicntion` In the dran/ings:

l'ig. l a longitudinal enlbodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation partlyv broken away.

Fig.

the calins S is a plan view of Fig. l.

Fig. l shows a modified form o't valve.

Fig. 5 is a transverse section of the piston valve through which the compressed air forced to operate the signal when the pressure reaches ampredetermined degree.

Fig. (5 is a modification showing` the use oi a visual signal instead ot a sound signal.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown at l a suitable casing in which the apparatus is mounted and enclosed. Connected vri'i the casing or integral therewith is a head 2 having a chamber 3. A tubular stem l comn'iunicates with said chamber 3 and is adapted to be engaged with the air valve of a tire, and a tubular stem conmiunicating.;` with said air chamber 3 is adapted to he connected v-:ith an air pump or other source of conipressed air supply.

The air chamber 3 opens into a passage through a tubular boss G projecting` Atrein one side ci the head Q, the outer end ot said boss lforming a seat 7 for a piston valve The piston valve 8 is slidahle `within said tubular hoss and Within the said air chamber 3 Within vvhich the piston has a sliding tit. The upper portion of the piston is cupped-out forming a cylindrical chamber The piston extends transversely of the air passage?, l0, l1 which extend through the stems Ll, 5 respectively and communicate with the air rhamher 3 in the heat The Wall ot the cupped-out upper end portion ot' the piston is formed with ports 12, '13 which are in alinement with each other and with the air passages l0, 1l of the stems 4, 5 respectively when the piston valve is seated. `When the piston moves down from the seated position shown in Fig. l 'tar enough to bring the ports 127 13 out of alinement with theV said air passages 10, 11 the communication between the said air passages 10, 11 will be closed.

A cylinder 14 is connected with the tubular boss 6 and the pistonS is slidable therein. The head 2 is formed with an air passage 15 communicating with the port 11 in the stein 5,'said air passage 15 extending down in the wall of the boss 6 and being open at its lower end to the valve seat T. The wall of the cylinder 14 is formed with one or more ports 16 as shown in l? 1. When the head of the piston valve is unseated by being moved down away from the seat 'T the said passage 15 in the valve will be open to communication with said cylinder 14 and with said ports 16. The piston valve is provided with a rod 1T.

The said rod 17 passes loosely through an aperture in the lower end 13 of the cylinder, `the upper end of said rod engaging with the piston 3 by a loose tit in a hole in the end of the piston.

The lower end of said piston rod extends through an apertuig'e in a yoke 19. rIhe connection with the yoke 19 is adjustable so that the operative length of the piston rod above the Vyoke may be varied. This is accomphshed by making the lower part of v the piston rod screw threaded and by pro-k viding an adjusting nut 20 upon the screw threaded portion of the piston rod above the yoke 19. Said nut engages the upper side of the yoke 19 to limit the upward position of the yoke. A pair of springs 21, 21 are located on opposite sides of the piston rod 17 and are secured at their upper ends to supports 22, 22 on an adjustable sliding member 237 the lower ends of said springs being connected with screw pins 24 whose threaded shanks pass loosely through guide apertures in the yoke 19 and have nuts 25 screwed upon their lower ends, said nr-ts engaging the underside of the yoke 19 to form seats for the yoke.

r1`he said springs 21 normally hold the yoke 19 in. such position that it will enaoe L A C Z the nut 20 on the piston rod with sufh pressure upward that the upper end et the said piston rod will maintain the valve 3 on its seat 7 so that no air can enter the cylinder 14 until the air pressure in the chamber 9 is sufficient to overcome the tension of the springs. I provide means whereby the power of the said springs may be varied so that they may be adjusted to permit them to yield under a predetermined air pressure. according to whatever pressure is desired in the tire which is being inflated. The means shown are as follows: The adjustable sliding member 23 previously referred to is provided with a threaded portion 2T as shown in Fig. 2 which is engaged by a correspondingly threaded shaft 28 which passes up in creasing their tension.

through bearings in a casing 29Vand has mounted on its upper end a finger 30 which serves both as an index pointer and also as a finger piece to operate the worm shaft. By partially rotating the worm shaft in one direction therslide member 23 will be raised and thereby stretch the springs 21, 21 thus Mounted on the outer end of the case 1 is a dial 31 graduated to different degrees'to indicate the pressure desired to inflate the. tire. The normal tension of the springs 21 should be so adjusted that when the pointer 30 is turned to any ligure on the dial a pressure in the air chamber of the same number of pounds as indicated on the dial will. be required 'to open the valve 8. For instance-if the index points'to numeral 40 on the dial, it means that a pressure of 1-O lbs. is required to open the valve. and if turned tothe 50 mark on the dial7 it will increase the tension of the springs so that a pressure of 50 lbs. will be required to unseat the valve. The nuts 25 on the lower ends of the screw pins 211 may be adjusted to give the suitable normal tension to the said springs to maintain the valve seated when there is no pressure in the air chamber 9. This can be determined by eX- periment.

Assuming that the tension o-f the springs has been properly adjusted and it is desired to pump up the tire to a pressure of say A() lbs. the vtubular stems 4 and 5 respectively are connected with the valve of the tire and with the air pump before the air pressure is turned on, then the index finger 30 should be turned until it points to 40 on the. dial. As already stated this adjust-s the tension of the springs so that an air pressure of LlO lbs. will be required in the air chamber 9 before the valve will become unseated to bring the lower end of the air passage 15 in the head 2 into communication with the outlet port 16 in the cylinder. Adjacent the outlet portion 16 there is provided a lip 32 across the edge of which the air rushes as itis eX- pelled through the outlet port 16 thereby making a noise like a whistle and thus giving audible indication that the tire has reached the desired pressure. The. form of whistle shown is merely illustrative. rPhe whistle may be of any suitable form or location so that whenever the air pressure unseats the valve, it will be forced through the passage and sound the whistle. After the 'index finger has been adjusted to the reair to produce an audible signal may be ein plolved.

TiVhen the piston moves down from its seat, under the pressure as above described, the ports 12, 1li-3 in the wall et the chanibered upper portion ot the piston .vill move out ot Valinement with the passages 10, 11 respectively in the stems Ll. 5 and thereby cut eti1 eeV communication between the air chamber 9 and the tire and between the air pump and said air chamber. The piston valve will remain unseated until the pressure is reduced zitter vvhich the valve will again be seated hv means ofthe springs 2l and the air chamber Si will again be brought into conuminiction with the ports 12, 13.

it is desirable to be able to close comuninication between the source ot compressed air and the chamber t) through the passage 11 and port 13 duringthe time that the valve is seated and While the passage 11 and port 13 are in alinementwith each other until it is desired to torce air into the tire.

The object of thus closing the communication is to enable the device to be connected up with an air pump or other source of compressed air and to be connected up with the tire before turningon the compressed air. Tothis end, I provide suitable means under the control et the operator for opening and closing-*fthe air passage ll at Will and while holdingl the instrument in his hand. Any suitable `term ot cut-oit may be employed. The means shown in the drawings is as ollows: The head 2 or the stein 5 is formed with a passage 321 which extends through the side Wall of the head or stem and transverset;7 aeross the passage 11. A piston valve 33 has a sliding fit in said passage and is adapted to close the passage 11. The piston 33 is `nlounted on a rod 3st Whose lover Vend is pivotally connected with a lever 35 i'ulerumed 36 to a projection on the case 1. fr thrust spring 3T having one end ci. iected Witn the ,lever and its other end connected with the casing normally holds the lever 85 in positionto maintain the valve 33 clo'ed. Then the operator is ready to open communication through the passage 11 from the source ot compressed air to the chamber 9, after connections are made with the air pump and With the tire valve, he will move the tree end ot the lever 35 toward the easing,` 1.. overcoming the pressure of the spring Si' and thereby pulling down the rod 3l and unseating the. valve'v thus opening the passage 11. lfilhen he desires to close the valve 33 to shut oli" the compressed air trom the air chamber 9, he vvill release the lever 35 and the spring 37 Will cause the valve 33 to close.

In the mediieation shown in Figs. d and 6 the pist-on valve Which controls the release ot con'ipressed air from the air chamber of the head to operate the signal is shown Without the automatic cutoll1 previously described. he head is formed With a port -ltt eatliugtrom tlu` air chamber i out through the s'le .vall and tl'lroue'h a boss ll whose lower end lorins a .seat d2 tor a piston valve having rod 1T. ln the forni shown in liio. el; the piston valve slides inV a tubular hoes -jlsl which projects trom the head and is termed with longitudinal air passeurs cv'lind Llti lits up around the bos and encloses said boss and the piston -l-f. rl`he cylinder is termed with an outlet air port et?. lYhen the piston is unseateet h v the air pressureE coiupressml air uill pass down through the lliassan'es iii and escape througi'h the port -l-i', blowingacross the lip siti to produce the whistling sound.

ln the inediti-tation shown in Fig. t3, the piston is similar to that shoivn in` Fi and As here shown compression sp1-ings il are emplojved instead ol tension springs as shown in Fig. 1. lt is obvious that ten rien springs or compression springs may either be used. Instead el an audible signal there is here showna visual signal which is operated by the piston rod actuated by thel compressed air. Any suitable visual signal thus actuated may be employed. 'the means shown in the drawings are as follows:

An arrow 5t) is mounted on a shaft 51 joui-nailed in the case l. An arm is mounted fast on the .shatt 51 and projects touY rd the piston rod 17. An arm 523 or other suitable projection from the rod 1? extends beneath the. arm 52. il. springl 5l mounted on shalt 51 with one end engagingl the casing and the other end engaging the arm tends to rotate the shaft 51 in a direction to turn the arm dou'n and turn the arrow 50 on its axis vvith the shalt. The arm on the pivot rod 1T serves as a stop to prevent such moveinei'it as long;y as the valve l?) is seated. When the piston valve is unseated bv the action et the compresssi air and the piston rod 1"( move; down, the arm :323 also moves down and permits the shaft 31 to respond to the torce of the spring s and turn the arrow 53). 'llhis will be a visual signal to the operator that the required pressure in the tire has been reached.

lt is obvious that an audible signal and a visual signal maj. both te en'iployed in the saine apparatus it' desired. 1t is also obvious that an automaticA cut-otl' piston valve sich as the valve 8 shown in connection with Fig. 1 and a` inanually controlled valve 'tor cuttingl oit' the compressed air tl'iroua'h the passage 1l such as is shown and described in connection with Fig'. 1 'may be employed in the same apparatus as the visual signal. It is also obvious that. numerous other moditications in the details olf construction muy be employed instead ol the iarticular forni shown in the drawings lio lit)

and still embody the invention consisting of the employment of an automatically operated signal actua-ted by the compressedY air when it reaches a predetern'iined degree of pressure and means whereby the apparatus may be adjusted according to the predetermined amount of pressure desired before the signal will be operated.

ln describing the use and operation of the device the piston and rod have been rct'erred to as moving'up and down as though the device were held in a vertical position. rl`he terms up and down have been cnn ployed merely for convenience in description it being obvious that the instrument' may be hcl-rl in any convenient position desired.

What l claim is:

l, fin automatic signal device having a valve body with a passage adapted to communicate at one end with a source of compressed air and at its other end with an article into which compressed air is to be introduced7 said passage having an outlet port through the valvev body intermediate the two ends of said passage, a piston which controls said intermediate outlet, a rod connected with said piston, a spring connected at one end with a. member carried by said rod and connected at its other end with a n'iember which is adjustable for varying the force of the spring, said spring being adapted to normally hold the piston in position to close said intermediate port until the air pressure is sutlicicnt to overcome the `resistance of the spring, a rotatable sha-ft having a worm portion which engages with a threaded aperture in said adjustable connecting member for the spring, the rotation of said shafton its axis being adapted to adjust the said spring connecting member to varythe force of the spring and thereby vary the amount of air pressure required to unseat the piston. Y

A portable device for use in intiating tires and other articles comprising a casing, a valve body member having an airpassage therethrough adapted to connect at one end of said air passage with a source of air pressure and connected at the other end of said passage with the article to be inflated, said body having lan outlet port from said air passage intermediate the said ends, a. piston valve which controls said intermediate port, a rod connected with said piston, a rotatable worm shaft having a bearing in said casing. av bracket adjustably iounted on said worm having a threaded aperture with which said worm engages whereby the rotation of the worm shaft causes the said bracket to vary its position on the shaft, a bracket mounted on said piston rod and a spring having one end connected with said piston rod bracket., the other end of said spring being connected with said worm shaft bracket whereby the variation in position of theV bracket on the worm shaft will vary the tension ofthe spring.

3. A portable device for use in intlating tires and other articles comprising a casing, a valve body member having an air passage therethrough adapted to connect at one end of said air passage with a source of air pressure and connected at the other end of said passage with the article to be inflated,

said body having an outlet port from saidV air passage intermediate the said ends, a piston falve which controls said intermediate port, a rod connected with said piston, a rotatable worm shaft having a bearing in said casing, a bracket adjustably mounted on said worm having a threaded aperture with which said worm engages whereby the r-itation of the worm shaft causes thesaid bracket to vary its position on the shaft, a

bracketmounted on said piston rod, a pointver carried by the worm shaft and a dlal moimtcd on the casing graduated in such manner that as the said worm shaft is adjusted on its axis, the said pointer will indicate on the dial the tension of the spring` Ll. A portable device for use in intlating tires and other articles comprising` a casing, a valve body member having an air passage thert-ithrough adapted to connect at one end of saidair passage with a source of air pressure and connected at the other end of said passage with the article to be inflated, said body having an outlet port from said air passage intermediate the said ends, a piston valve which controls said intermediate port,

a rod connected with said piston, a` rotat-` able worm shaft havino a bearing-in said r1 v t; Y

casing', a bracket adjustably mounted on said worin having a threaded aperture with which said worm engages w iereby the rotation of the worm shaft causes the said bracket to vary its position on the shaft, a bracket. mounted 'on said piston rod and a springv having one end connected with said piston rod bracket, the other end of said spring being connected with said worm shaft, said worm shaft extending through the casing, a pointer carried on the end of the worm shaft, anda dial on the valve body member graduated in such manner that as the said worm shaft is adjusted on its axis, the pointer will indicate on the dial the tension of the spring.

ln testimony whereof l affix my signature.

ARCHIBALD YV. PARQUETIE. 

